Always always always double check the weather before lineup lock! This is MLB DFS 101, but we didn't follow it last night. Instead we trusted early weather reports that indicated there wasn't much to worry about with the Twins-Angels game. As it turned out, Anaheim got so much rain ahead of first pitch that field conditions were unplayable, washing out our four-man Twins stack (counting SP Martin Perez). To add even more insult, our late pivot from Andrew McCutchen/Tommy Pham to Josh Reddick/Harold Rodriguez netted us a cool 19 fewer DraftKings points, so any way you slice it, we sucked. Will our Thursday afternoon FanDuel picks be any better? (Don't answer that.)

With only five games on the main afternoon slate, our options are somewhat limited. Our primary means of differentiation will probably be with our pitcher, but you never know how ownership percentages will be divvied up on small slates like this. Either way, we're taking a few chances in terms of sleepers and expensive studs who don't have splits in their favor, so hopefully talent will win out and we can make up for last night.

Thursday's FanDuel Lineup Picks

Picks are for an afternoon-slate FanDuel GPP tournament

Starting Pitcher: Trevor Richards, Marlins @ Tigers ($6,700). This pick will make or break our lineup. The obvious option is Matthew Boyd against the Marlins, but if we hit on Richards -- the second-cheapest pitcher on the board -- we'll be in good shape. This isn't a pure contrarian pick, though. The Tigers rank 29th in wRC+ against righties, and Richards has shown he can have good performances, posting five quality starts in his nine outings. It's a lot to ask for the Marlins to get a win against Boyd, but Richards still has some upside here.

Catcher/First Base: Luke Voit, Yankees @ Orioles ($4,100). Voit hasn't gotten in on the home run fun in Baltimore this series, but it's only a matter of time. He's still getting base hits and scoring runs, and even though Dylan Bundy is the best pitcher the Yankees will face this series, he's not particularly good. He's already allowed 11 HRs this year, and he's been especially hammered by righties (.609 SLG).

Second Base: Brian Dozier, Nationals @ Mets ($2,500). Dozier hasn't been good for the better part of two seasons, but he's still crushing lefties, as shown by his .345/.441/.621 line against southpaws this year. He offers great salary relief in his matchup against Steven Matz.

Third Base: Nolan Arenado, Rockies @ Pirates ($4,200). Arenado's worst type of split is on the road against righties. It's not a huge surprise, but he's still slugging a solid .487 in those situations. We're hoping his high price and less than ideal situation keeps his ownership low because he's talented enough to do work against Jordan Lyles.

Shortstop: Freddy Galvis, Blue Jays vs. Red Sox ($2,800). The Red Sox are going with a bullpen start, but with no lefties in the Boston 'pen, Galvis will only get at-bats against righties. He's been much better from the left side of the plate this year, and he has some power/speed upside.

Outfield: Gregory Polanco, Pirates vs. Rockies ($3,800). It's a very small sample, but Antonio Senzatela is getting crushed by lefties on the road this year (.303/.410/.576). That's not the only reason we're picking Polanco, who's having the best hitting season of his career, but it certainly doesn't hurt.

Outfield: Clint Frazier, Yankees @ Orioles ($3,600). Frazier popped two homers in Baltimore on Tuesday, but he went 0-for-5 on Wednesday. He might not be in New York's lineup on Thursday, but if he is, we'll hope he can be part of what figures to be another Yankees' run fest.

Outfield: Dwight Smith Jr., Orioles vs. Yankees ($3,400). Smith is crushing at home this year (.571 SLG), and that number improves to .661 against righties. Masahiro Tanaka has allowed a .485 SLG to lefties (.579 on the road to lefties), so this is a good spot for the streaky Smith.

UTIL: Pete Alonso, Mets vs. Nationals ($3,800). We're hoping Alonso is lower owned than usualbecause of a tough matchup against Stephen Strasburg. He's more than held his own against righthanded pitching (.555 SLG), so we'll take our chances.